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Showing posts from April, 2021

Charleston Alley Cats (Ebbets Field Flannels Retro) - Snaps Ain't Back!!!!

After two straight weeks of lacking "fitted" content on the blog, this week's motto is S naps Ain't Back !!!! Like most collectors in the cap enthusiast community, my preference is to own a fitted version of a cap but there are times when the retro fitted is not a better option than a true vintage snapback.The caps I've featured the previous two posts are perfect examples of this. The 1983 Charleston Charlies retro from Ebbets Field Flannels released a few years ago has a logo that is a bit more squat than the one on my cap but more importantly, I would have preferred a nylon material over their standard wool offering in that case. I'm also not even sure if the Charlies had a fitted version of that cap since it was only worn for a year. The next instance is the  immediately noticeable   minified Charleston Wheelers logo on Hat Club's retro. This also happened with one of their Portland Rockies releases but then again, these are all such a rare logos tha

1987-94 Charleston Wheelers Snapback

I've got another snapback for this edition of  Fresh "Fitted" Friday but while last week's Charleston Charlies design is synonymous with a team's departure from town, this time I've got the iconic logo the team wore when baseball returned in 1987 all the way until they rebranded to become the Charleston Alley Cats in 1995. I always thought this logo referenced the smog produced by the coal mines in West Virginia but it turns out that puffy cloud is a representation of the steamboats that chugged along Charleston's Kanawha River starting back in the early 19th century.   I was hoping to find a fitted version of this cap but this snapback will just have to do for now as I've been on the hunt for this logo for years! This sweatband is so white it could pass for a clerical collar so yeah, I'd say this this hat is in pretty good shape considering it's about 30 years old. During my boat ride down Wheelers memory lane, this 1987 ProCards James Hendri

1983 Charleston Charlies - Fresh Foam Snapback!!!!

This week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is unique in that it's actually of the Fresh Foam variety!  This is the second ever foam pillbox cap that I've written about with the first being a  Tidewater Tides snapback  with nearly identical construction as this week's Charleston Charlies hat. The Charlies were a Cleveland affiliate from 1981 through 1983 and this logo takes the block "C" logo their parent team wore from 1979-86 and adds white piping around the crown. That is a touchstone of cap styles in 1983 which was the only year this cap was worn as well as their last season in Charleston, WV. Because this hat was only worn for one season I doubt if a fitted version was even made at the time. Also, I'm not usually a fan of the visor being the same color on both sides but this cap is very rare and sometimes you've got to take what you can get, folks!  The Tides cap I mentioned earlier has a Twins (Enterprise Products) tag on the sweatband while this

2011 San Francisco Giants "Ring Ceremony" Cap

I've already mentioned this before but can't help reiterating 2021 is a milestone year for this blog as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. Having the opportunity to do something I truly enjoy for a decade is a strong reminder of how very fortunate I have been during that time. When I published my first post in August 2011, my passion for ballcap collecting had just been reignited after spending my first full year in New York City. Of course, I  wore ballcaps when I was in the Bay Area but it wasn't an everyday thing like it is for me now. My move here during the Giants historic postseason run in 2010 must have amplified my desire to flaunt my love for the Bay as well as connect with people from home. Thankfully, there was an East Village bar called Finnerty's where Bay Area ex-pats congregated and wearing a Giants hat was an easy way to spot each other as we enjoyed the spoils of New York while far from home. Wearing my fresh Giants cap with the 2010 World Series patch

1988 Greensboro Hornets (Roman Pro Cap Co.)

I took last week off but I'm going to kindly ask you count this week's 1988 Roman Pro Cap Co. Greensboro Hornets post as a March entry because it definitely falls in line with the trend of all the ones from that month featuring some green. It also counts as a Wingure cap…barely. Even though it doesn't show a winged creature doing baseball stuff, I've decided the team name being "Hornets" is enough to consider this a "Wingure" cap.  So much green!!!! There's definitely some "fresh mesh" stuff happening here which makes this a perfect option for the warmer months ahead.  I briefly discussed my desire for a retro release of this cap logo in my Greensboro Grasshoppers post from 2018 and while I'm bummed that never came to fruition for me, I'm absolutely thrilled to have a vintage version. It wouldn't hurt to have a retro release also though, as I'd love to keep this snapback on ice so that it continues to stay fresh for yea